high official

Chapter 824 The Prince's Determination

After a short episode, everyone was seated, Zhang Shifang said to Wang Xian: "You came just in time, His Highness shut himself in the study when he came back from the palace, and didn't eat lunch, hurry up and persuade me."

When Wang Xian saw Xu Miaojin, his heart fluttered and he responded vaguely, but his buttocks seemed to be nailed to a chair, motionless.The princess urged him again, and he went to the prince's study dawdlingly.

Staring at his back stupidly, Xu Miaojin felt lost.Seeing the strangeness of these two people, the princess secretly sighed, but she could only pretend not to know, and started chatting with Xu Miaojin.

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The prince's study room was deserted and clear. Although Jinling was located in the south of the Yangtze River, it was still necessary to light a charcoal basin to keep warm during the first lunar month.However, the prince has been extremely afraid of the heat and fond of the cold since he went out of practice at a young age, so there has never been a warm cage in the study.

As soon as Wang Xian entered, he couldn't help shivering.The crown prince was sitting at the table in distress, he forced out a smile and said, "Zhongde is here." Then he ordered the eunuch: "Quickly, light up the warm cage."

"No need, I'm dizzy from the heat in front of me," Wang Xian smiled, sniffled and said, "When you cool off, your mind will be clearer."

"You really think so?" The prince loved Wang Xian very much, even more than his own son.

"That is." Wang Xian nodded.

"Didn't you make me happy?" the prince asked with a smile.

"No."

"Okay." The prince said to the eunuch who was about to light the fire: "Forget it, let uncle serve you a bowl of hot tea."

The eunuch obeyed the order, took out the charcoal basin, and after a while came in with a tray, and put the tea bowl in front of Wang Xian.Then he listened to the prince's order: "Go out and guard the door."

"Yes." The eunuch bowed and stepped back, guarding the door.

The study returned to silence, Wang Xian held the hot teacup in his hand, felt less cold, he breathed a sigh of relief, and heard the prince ask: "Are you here to be a lobbyist for the grandson?"

"Hehe..." Wang Xian smiled awkwardly and said, "Not really."

"Zhongde," the crown prince didn't listen to his sly tricks, and said with a desolate face, "you don't think that Gu is coerced by hundreds of officials and deliberately invites people to buy?"

"Your Highness must have his own reasons." Wang Xian shook his head and said with certainty: "You will not only consider yourself when it comes to such a big matter."

"So you are my confidant." Zhu Gaochi showed a look of relief, stood up with the desk, walked a few steps in the study room before standing still, and said in a deep voice: "The biggest reason why the emperor moved the capital to Beijing is to The Son of Heaven guards the gate of the country, this point, I really can't agree with it!"

Naturally, Wang Xian also stood up. He saw that Zhu Gaochi's face was indeed a little more confident and determined than before.In any case, expelling the king of Han and securing the position of the crown prince gave the prince great confidence, and the wit hidden in his heart finally showed itself.

"I was born alone in Beiping and grew up there. I still have some say in the border defense between Beijing and the north!" Wang Xian listened quietly to Zhu Gaochi's impassioned statement: "Not to mention that all the money and food in the world are exported to the south of the Yangtze River. Now, the soldiers and civilians in the north The needs of the Ming Dynasty depended entirely on the supply from the south of the Yangtze River, and moving the capital to Beijing would impose a huge burden on Ming’s national strength—you know that half of the money and food transported by water would be wasted on expenses and losses! That is to say, The people in the south of the Yangtze River have to pay twice the tax than they are now!"

Wang Xian nodded, and Zhu Gaochi continued: "Moreover, in order to support Beijing, which is located in a corner, a large number of people must be drawn and invested in the Youyan area. This is equivalent to moving the wealth of the whole country to the gate of the country! When the national power is strong It’s okay to say, but in the future, once the descendants are unworthy and the power is no longer strong, they will definitely invite crazy aggression from the barbarians! Huge losses will be caused!”

Wang Xian listened silently, and a storm arose in his heart. He believed that Zhu Di's move to the capital could not be changed, and it was also a good thing that benefited the country and the people!After all, "the son of heaven guards the gate of the country" makes people excited when they hear it, and it also created a brilliant Beijing city.So Wang Xian originally supported moving the capital, and he came here to persuade the prince...

However, after hearing the prince's words, Wang Xian realized that he was too subjective. The move of Zhu Di's capital did not seem to be as great, glorious and correct as the textbook said...

"This is the second thing. Taizu's grand plan and strategy have already formulated a brilliant border defense strategy!" Zhu Gaochi continued: "From the northeast to the northwest, the entire northern border defense is a complete and balanced system!"

"Yes, I heard that the frontier guards of this dynasty learned from the Han Dynasty." Wang Xian nodded and said, "The focus is on the guard system outside the Great Wall."

"Yes, in the depth of hundreds of thousands of miles north of the Great Wall, with strategic locations such as Hami, Hetao, Dingxiang, Kaiping, and Liaoyang as strongholds, a first line of defense that echoes each other has been woven. Great Wall." Zhu Gaochi nodded, and said in a deep voice: "Even if Hu Qi bypasses the first line of defense and enters the Great Wall, there is still the second line of defense set up by Emperor Taizu in Shanxi, Hebei, and Shandong, and then the Yellow River line of defense, Follow the example of the third line of defense from the Huaihe River to Dashan Pass established in the Southern Song Dynasty, and even the last natural danger of the Yangtze River! This layer of defense line puts our Ming Dynasty under strict protection, so we can rest easy!"

"..." Wang Xian nodded and sighed, "Indeed, these deployments are very far-sighted."

"Once the capital is moved to the north, these deployments will be abandoned..." Zhu Gaochi said dejectedly: "Even the only remaining first line of defense will be broken because Beijing is called the capital, and the current balance will be broken, making the western front full of loopholes! "

"Yes." Wang Xian nodded again, and said softly, "Moving the capital to Beijing means moving the country's political center to the first line of defense. From then on, defending the capital will become the top priority of border defense, and it will definitely destroy the balance of the northern defense system!" In any dynasty, in any country, the capital must never be breached, otherwise the country will be in danger of subjugation.In fact, in order to protect Beijing, the Ming Dynasty will exhaust its national power in the future, completely renovate the Great Wall, and add "nine sides" from northern Shanxi to Shanhaiguan to defend Beijing.

Daming's national power is limited, and the border defense expenditure can only be transported by water transport for thousands of miles. In order to consolidate the nine borders and protect Beijing, Ming had to retreat the northern defense system and defend internally.First, the Western Front was abolished and retreated from Hamiwei to Jiayuguan, then to Hetao, and then Hetao was abandoned and retreated to northern Shanxi.It created opportunities for the resurgence of various Mongolian ministries.Then it made great strides to retreat in the northeast—from the banks of the Yalu River to the south of the Songhua River, and then abandoned the Kaiping Guard, which could deter Mongolia and Manchuria at the same time, and retreated southward to the line from Juyongguan to Shanhaiguan.There is room for the rise of the Jurchens.

It was this national policy error that made Ming Dynasty under the pressure and ravages of the Tatar Wara tribe for a long time in the future.It also planted the catastrophe of the rise of the Manchu Qing Dynasty and the subjugation of the country in the future!

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In the study, His Royal Highness was worried.

"Gu is by no means alarmist," Zhu Gaochi said in a deep voice: "The experience of the two Songs is the best example! The Northern Song Dynasty was stronger than the Southern Song Dynasty. This is an indisputable fact. The country was subjugated by one blow, but the Southern Song Dynasty was able to hold on for more than one Jiazi under the ravages of Jin and Mongolia. It was because Kaifeng was located on the front line. No worries, only the emperor and his ministers can calmly deploy their troops and fight against the enemy!" He sighed and said, "For a hero like my father, there is no problem with 'the emperor guarding the country', but in future generations, the so-called 'emperor guarding the border' may not be able to improve morale On the contrary, it will become a special burden for the army, resulting in passive and beaten everywhere!"

"Indeed." Wang Xian nodded: "It's like playing chess. You needlessly sit out the boss and ask for a 'general'. The result is that you must be drawn for the chariot and then the horse, and the horse for the cannon."

"The words are rough and not rough." The crown prince nodded anxiously, looked at Wang Xian and said, "The emperor said that Jinling is located in the south of the Yangtze River, and it is not the foundation of the king's hegemony. This is true. When Taizu was there, he also considered moving the capital to Guanzhong, just because of Yi. Prince Wen died of illness and gave up, but the capital must not be moved to Beijing! It will make my Ming Dynasty forever!"

"..." After hearing the crown prince's words, Wang Xiancai realized that he was already drenched in sweat, and the room was still as cold as ice...

"Zhongde," the prince looked at Wang Xian with piercing eyes, and said in a low voice, "Do you think what I said is reasonable?"

Wang Xian nodded with a wry smile.

"Don't worry, Gu won't make things difficult for you." The prince said empathetically, "However, don't try to persuade me anymore, okay?"

"Yes." In this situation, Wang Xianwei just nodded.After a while, he asked with some difficulty: "What is your Highness going to do?"

"Do my best to prevent the capital from being moved." The prince paused word by word.

"But His Majesty's holy will has been decided, I'm afraid it can't be changed..." Wang Xian sighed, and said in a low voice: "Your Highness must not be reckless."

"I know..." The crown prince revealed a resolute expression, he gritted his teeth and said, "But, knowing this, I have no choice but to go all out!"

"Hey..." Wang Xian had gradually understood that the prince's temperament was hidden in his heart, and he knew that he had a certain idea and it would be difficult to change it, so he had to give up persuasion.

.

The two talked a few more words, and Wang Xian took his leave and left. When he came out, Xu Miaojin had been taken to some corner by Mrs. Zhang, leaving only Zhu Zhanyu waiting for him.

Not seeing Xu Miaojin, Wang Xian felt lost, just chatted with Zhu Zhanxi, and went home.

Along the way, Wang Xian could hear the sonorous and forceful words of the prince.He had to admit that he was persuaded by the prince.It's just that in this way, a big conflict will inevitably break out between the emperor of Ming Dynasty and the crown prince!
In this conflict, how should I deal with myself?Should he stay out of the matter according to the established policy and be his own peace officer?Or follow your heart and work with the prince to dissuade the emperor from moving the capital?Thinking of Zhu Zhanji who was waiting for his good news at home, Wang Xian was full of worries.

Looking at the low-hanging clouds in the sky, Wang Xian tightened his collar, exhaled white air and said, "It's so cold..."

(End of this chapter)